Metal stud

ABSTRACT

A steel wall stud has a rear wall, two parallel side walls, each side wall having a front end wall that projects away from interior cavity formed by the rear and side walls.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/580,188 filed on 24 Sep. 2019, now pending, which claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/752,388 filed on 30Oct. 2018, the disclosures of which are incorporated, in theirentireties, by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed towards a metal wall stud suitable for use inthe construction of prefabricated metal buildings, including both firerated and non-fire rated wall construction. It is a more particularaspect of the invention to provide for an improved ″C-shaped stud memberthat imparts greater structural strength and has a unique shape thatallows for placement of fewer studs within a building and withoutsacrificing the performance characteristics of the building.

This invention is further directed to a prefabricated wall assemblyusing metal wall studs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to wall studs and wall assemblies using the wallstuds that are used in prefabricated metal structures. Typically, wallstuds in metal prefabricated buildings are built with the studs placedon 12 inch to 24 inch centers using C-shaped studs. While traditional“C”-shaped studs are adequate for some construction purposes, there isroom for variation and improvement within the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one aspect of at least one of the present embodiments to providefor a wall stud that offers at least a comparable strength over atraditional C-channel stud and provides a wall constructed using lesstotal materials in the studs.

It is a further aspect of at least one of the present embodiments toprovide for a flange having a wider surface area than a conventionalC-flange or tube, the wider surface area providing a greater surfacearea for connecting interior sheeting, which in turn provides for alarger connection area and greater strength.

It is a further aspect of at least one of the present embodiments toprovide for a wall stud having a greater in-plane shear resistance suchthat it is able to resist imposed lateral loads or seismic loads withless need for additional sheathing.

It is a further aspect of at least one of the present embodiments toprovide for a metal stud having a 14-gauge thickness having a channeldepth of about 4 inches, a width of about 3.63 inches, and a flangelength of about 2.07 inches.

It is a further aspect of at least one of the present embodiments toprovide a wall stud comprising: a 14-gauge thickness plus or minus 20%having a channel depth of 4 inches plus or minus 12%, a 3.63 inch widthplus or minus 20%, and a flange length of 2.07 inches plus or minus 20%.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A fully enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the bestmode thereof to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth moreparticularly in the remainder of the specification, including referenceto the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 sets forth a top view of a wall stud in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 sets forth a perspective view of the wall stud seen in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bottom section of a wall studconnected to a frame member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wall assembly in which a wall panel isconstructed using a plurality of wall studs within a frame to form awall assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of theinvention, one or more examples of which are set forth below. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncover such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents. Other objects, features, andaspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following detaileddescription. It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the artthat the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodimentsonly and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplaryconstructions.

It is to be understood that the ranges mentioned herein include allranges located within the prescribed range. As such, all rangesmentioned herein include all sub-ranges included in the mentionedranges. For instance, a range from 100-200 also includes ranges from110-150, 170-190, and 153-162. Further, all limits mentioned hereininclude all other limits included in the mentioned limits. For instance,a limit of up to 7 also includes a limit of up to 5, up to 3, and up to4.5.

The term “about” means the stated value plus or minus 10 percent unlessanother value range is given.

In describing the various figures herein, the same reference numbers areused throughout to describe the same material, apparatus, or processpathway. To avoid redundancy, detailed descriptions of much of theapparatus once described in relation to a figure is not repeated in thedescriptions of subsequent figures, although such apparatus or processis labeled with the same reference numbers.

As best seen in reference to FIG. 1 , a wall stud 10 is provided have arear wall 12, two parallel side walls 14 and 14′ which project in aforward direction and are connected to the rear wall at about a90-degree angle. A cavity 15 is defined between the two side walls andthe attached rear wall. The front end of each side wall is connected toa respective front wall member 16 and 16′, walls 16 and 16′ beingsubstantially parallel to rear wall 12 and which project away from theinterior cavity 15.

Each side wall 14 and 14′ has a length of about 4 inches. The rear wall12 has a length of about 3.63 inches, and each front wall has a lengthof about 2.07 inches. The flange material is preferably one ofgalvanized steel and has a thickness of about 0.0713 inches (14 gauge)and a cross sectional area of about 1.09 in².

The present invention provides for a wall stud which is tailoredspecifically for modular units. The center width and the flange lengthand respective dimension ratios offer unique advantages. The stud of thepresent invention has several advantages over conventional C-shapedstuds. One advantage is that the present wall stud channel will save ontotal materials over the C-Channel and is comparable to a HSS tube. Thecross section of the wall stud yields a 1.09 in² surface area. A typical14 ga C-Channel is 0.62 in² and the HSS tube is 1.07 in². These areas(with the indicated stud spacing and a typical 8 ft tall wall) yield aper square foot metal volume described below.

The stud according to the present invention in a typical 8 ft tall wallwould be @ 24″ o.c., 96 in tall=6.54 in³/ft². A sample 400S200-68C-Channel @ 12″ o.c., 96″ tall=7.44 in³/ft² would utilize 12% morematerial than the present wall stud. A HSS3×2×0.125 Tube @24″ o.c., 96″tall=6.42 in³/ft² is 2% less than the improved wall stud.

The present wall stud, when compared to the HSS tube, has a surface areafrom the wall stud flange/web which is much wider. The interior of thewall has 3.63″ of connection surface width contacting the interiorsheathing and two 2.07″ flanges in close proximity for the exteriorsheathing. This creates a larger connection area and also allows for atighter horizontal fastener spacing for high wind applications.

Additionally, the wall stud can provide in-plane shear resistance.C-Channels do not have any “shearwall” or “moment frame” capacityintegrated into their design. In some cases, the wall stud itself willbe able to resist imposed lateral MWFRS or Seismic loads (SDC ‘C’ orless) without a shearwall sheathing analysis. The sheathing would stillbe necessary for many reasons, but fastener spacing and the amount ofmaterial used may remain unaltered by the shear load.

As seen in reference to FIG. 4 ., the stud 10 can be used to provide forpanels 100 in which the studs 10 are attached to an upper horizontalbeam 20 and a lower horizontal beam 30. On either side of the panel 100is a respective side frame member 40 and 40′. Preferable the spacingbetween adjacent studs is about 24 inches. As is known in the art, frontand rear facing materials of gypsum with an outer layer of galvanizedsteel sheathing may be used. Additionally, the cavity 15 may have alayer of mineral wool placed therein.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been describedusing specific terms, devices, and methods, such description is forillustrative purposes only. The words used are words of descriptionrather than of limitation. It is to be understood that changes andvariations may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or the scope of the present invention. Inaddition, it should be understood that aspects of the variousembodiments may be interchanged, both in whole, or in part. Therefore,the spirit and scope of the invention should not be limited to thedescription of the preferred versions contained therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wall panel assembly, comprising: a top beam; abottom beam; a pair of side frames connected to the top beam and thebottom beam; and an interior portion of the wall panel assembly having aplurality of metal wall studs consisting of a singular row of metal wallstuds, each metal wall stud of the plurality of metal wall studscomprising: a rear wall; opposing side walls, each opposing side wallcomprising a first end connected to the rear wall; a cavity definedbetween the opposing side walls and the rear wall; and a flangeconnected to a second end of the opposing side walls, the flangeprojecting away from the cavity.
 2. The wall panel assembly of claim 1,wherein the flange comprises two front walls that are substantiallyparallel to the rear wall.
 3. The wall panel assembly of claim 2,wherein: the rear wall comprises a first length dimension; and the twofront walls in combination comprise a second length dimension that isgreater than the first length dimension.
 4. The wall panel assembly ofclaim 3, wherein the opposing side walls form a channel depth dimensionfor each metal wall stud of the plurality of metal wall studs, thechannel depth dimension being about the same as the second lengthdimension.
 5. The wall panel assembly of claim 4, wherein the channeldepth dimension is greater than the first length dimension.
 6. The wallpanel assembly of claim 1, wherein the flange comprises galvanizedsteel.
 7. The wall panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the wall panelassembly is fire rated.
 8. A wall panel assembly, comprising: aplurality of metal wall studs joined together, the plurality of metalwall studs consisting of a singular row of metal wall studs spaced apartby a stud spacing interval, each metal wall stud of the plurality ofmetal wall studs comprising: a rear wall; opposing side walls, eachopposing side wall comprising a first end connected to the rear wall; acavity defined between the opposing side walls and the rear wall; and aflange connected to a second end of the opposing side walls, the flangeprojecting away from the cavity.
 9. The wall panel assembly of claim 8,further comprising an interior wall sheathing oriented towards the rearwall.
 10. The wall panel assembly of claim 8, further comprising anexterior wall sheathing oriented towards the flange.
 11. The wall panelassembly of claim 10, wherein the flange is connected to the exteriorwall sheathing at spatial intervals less than the stud spacing interval.12. The wall panel assembly of claim 10, wherein the exterior wallsheathing comprises: at least one layer of gypsum sheathing; and anouter layer of galvanized steel sheathing.
 13. The wall panel assemblyof claim 8, wherein the plurality of metal wall studs are joinedtogether via a top beam, a bottom beam, and a pair of side framesconnected to the top beam and the bottom beam.
 14. The wall panelassembly of claim 8, wherein each metal wall stud of the plurality ofmetal wall studs is rated for seismic loads corresponding to a seismicdesign category C or less.
 15. A wall panel assembly, comprising: afirst beam; a second beam; and a plurality of metal wall studsconsisting of a singular row of metal wall studs positioned between thefirst beam and the second beam, each metal wall stud of the plurality ofmetal wall studs comprising: a rear wall; opposing side walls, eachopposing side wall comprising a first end connected to the rear wall; acavity defined between the opposing side walls and the rear wall; and aflange connected to a second end of the opposing side walls, the flangeprojecting away from the cavity.
 16. The wall panel assembly of claim15, wherein the opposing side walls are substantially perpendicular tothe rear wall and the flange.
 17. The wall panel assembly of claim 15,further comprising mineral wool positioned inside the cavity.
 18. Thewall panel assembly of claim 15, further comprising: an interior wallsheathing abutting the rear wall; and an exterior wall sheathingpositioned within close proximity to the flange.
 19. The wall panelassembly of claim 18, wherein: the plurality of metal wall studscomprises a stud spacing of about 24-inch centers between the first beamand the second beam; and the exterior wall sheathing is connected to theflange via one or more fasteners at a fastener spacing less than thestud spacing.
 20. The wall panel assembly of claim 15, wherein at leasta portion of each metal wall stud of the plurality of metal wall studscomprises galvanized steel.